Comcast Media Center
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Comcast Media Center Tour Script – FINAL Updated 12-1-11 Note – For internal use only. Do not distribute to visitors. Comcast Media Center (CMC) Background • 18 year-old company with an extensive client base • Industry-leading provider of video/audio origination and distribution across multiple platforms • Wholly owned subsidiary of Comcast Cable • Two diverse facilities – Dry Creek Campus and Titan Earth Station • DRY CREEK - 305,000 square-foot main facility built in fall of 1993 to meet the vision of advanced service offerings in the cable industry CMC’s Dry Creek Campus • TITAN EARTH STATION – 35,000 square-foot facility located a few miles southwest of Dry Creek. Home to 36 dedicated uplink antennas, some as large as 13 meters • Both facilities operate on a 24x7x365 basis • DRY CREEK – mixed-use, Tier 4 (electrical/mechanical), highly secure facility operating under best practices as published by the MPAA Dry Creek Campus – Fast Facts • Retail office space leased to outside customers housed in the building. Some of these include: DMX and iNDEMAND CMC’s Titan Earth Station • Operates under three independent facility systems (e.g. heating/cooling) Building A, Building B, and Building C • 24x7x365 security and monitoring • CMC currently serves more than 400 cable MSOs representing 1,200 regional headend sites, originates 87 linear video and 110 digital audio channels, handles over 20,000 sporting and special events each year, transmits 1,620 discrete feeds, and monitors 1,620 signals daily • The Operational Area we are about to enter is built on top of one big configurable computer floor. The walls only go from the floor to ceiling, thus may be expanded and contracted into different configurations as needed without major construction. All wiring is beneath the floor Enter Tour Here – doors to Ops Area… Stop #1: Comcast Regional Sports Room (CRS) Note: Room currently in state of transition Description: • Centralized, multi-channel master control environment devoted to regional sports. Services: • Full master control activities for the linear Comcast Sports Net Southeast Comcast Regional Sports Room (Atlanta) HD/SD regional sports network as well as alternate programming for blackout requirements • Former home to five Comcast SportsNets. The other four recently transitioned operations to NBCU in New Jersey. Technical Features: • Hybrid HD/SD control room • Built to accommodate 24 simultaneous inbound feeds, enhanced graphics, live event production, integration of CMC-originated studio elements, and real-time score updates from sports subscription services • In-room live ingest capabilities and live commercial insertion • Connectivity to other key areas of Dry Creek facility • CRS is a good example of how we separated the terminal equipment from the playback area before the Central Equipment Room was built Customer Benefits: • Quick-turn capability with direct-to-disk ingest for replay or VOD/multiplatform distribution. Capture and quick pitch for CSS today • Highly cost effective environment – accordian staffing approach • Can operate all six channels from one position through automated processes during non-peak periods Interesting Fact: • Although the room may look empty, there is a lot of signal going through it. We still handle occasional acquisition and transmission turns for the SportsNets that relocated. Stop #2: Central Equipment Room Description: • Enclosed broadcast data center with glass windows on one side for viewing • Heartbeat of the entire CMC operational facility Technical Features: • Data center-grade broadcast equipment room • Houses all the terminal equipment in appropriate conditions for humidity and power • Expandable space - continues to grow as we add and upgrade networks • Three power sources for redundancy Central Equipment Room Stop #3: NHL/Versus Master Control Environment Description: • Centralized, multi-channel master control environment dedicated to the NHL Network Services: • Full master control activities for NHL Network and NHL Alt • Temporary home to Versus Network, which will remain in place until after NHL Network Primary Master Control the SuperBowl. Then, Versus will transition to NBC facility in New Jersey Environment and rebrand as NBC Sports (NBC’s national sports channel). Both NHL rooms will shift around to the right at that time. Technical Features: • Includes multiple pods to support alternate programming for different markets where sports are blacked out • Highly automated • Capability to support 16 inbound feeds (soon to be 20) • Dedicated live-ingest and encode area. Taped and file-based ingest handled out of MAC. • Area to left is for live feed acquisition, segmentation and basic editing. All View of full NHL Network Environment prep of material for air. showing Alt Channel Customer Benefits: • Workflow modeled in a sports newsroom-style • Quick-turn capability with direct-to-disk ingest, if required • Acquisition, editing and segmentation often being handled as content is going to air Interesting Fact: • Room also has the ability to support 3D events if desired. Versus hosted a 3D version of the NHL Winter Classic on New Year’s Eve Encode Stations Stop #4: iN DEMAND Networks Master Control Note: Do not take visitors into PPV side of room due to adult content Description (new room): • Dedicated first-generation, multi-format HD/SD environment for iNDEMAND Networks digital PPV and live sports channels. iN DEMAND Live Sports Room • New environment completed in 2011 Services (new room): • Digital PPV (1 HD/7SD PPV channels, 3 SD barker channels) • Live Sports Room (18 HD/24 SD channels = 42 total) Technical Features: • Consolidated feed acquisition, live record, and live event coordination in a common functional area • Streamlined workflows • HD infrastructure (iND growing to HD distribution model) iN DEMAND Digital PPV Room • Increased capacity for sports replays • Connectivity with CMC’s MAC, acquisition and transmission platforms Customer Benefits: • Improved content quality on both HD and SD with move to all-digital HD environment • Expanded functional capabilities with multi-format HD/SD room • Increased scalability and operational versatility (for future business changes and peaks in programming requirements) • Reduced operational risk with increased uptime performance • Takes advantage of CMC core facility infrastructure upgrades and capabilities without further investment Stop #5: Xfinity 3D Master Control Room Note: You may allow visitors to try the different 3D glasses to view the content. However, do not let them touch anything on the console. Description: • Dedicated master control environment to support the Xfinity 3D channel. Comcast offers the courtesy service to customers who have the appropriate set-top box and 3D-capable TV set • Completed 1Q 2011 Technical Features: • Operates in an unstaffed, highly automated model • Utilizes the latest “channel-in-a-box” technology • When there are special events, staff operates environment • Can handle capture, quick-turn and redistribution to VOD Stop #6: CMC Disaster Recovery Room Description: • Multi-channel environment dedicated to short-term disaster recovery and longer-term Photo Placeholder business continuity. Various service levels available per client needs. Services: • Provide evergreen DR activities for Comcast SportsNets Chicago, Mid-Atlantic, Philadelphia, New York and the YES Network. Ability to ramp up for longer business continuity if required • Provide hosting services for highly automated Golf Channel business continuity and storage systems. Golf Channel delivers their files to servers and archive housed here and remotely manages mirrored playlist. CMC troubleshoots the system and handles maintenance activities. Technical Features: • CMC can recover origination and/or uplink for the services listed above • Digital acquisition of commercial content • Ability to acquire live feeds via various methods and formats for rapid integration into recovered signal path (to maintain revenue generation). Customer Benefits: • Support for multiple levels ranging from evergreen content playout to full master control operations to acting as an “always on” transmission back-up site • Rapid reconfiguration and validation while transitioning between various operational states • Highly secure facilities supported through a robust infrastructure with the power, cooling, and sustainability to be considered one of the most reliable sites in the broadcast world • Metro Denver region is the ideal location to host disaster recovery and business continuity solutions Interesting Fact: • CMC has gone active a number of times, most recently during Hurricane Irene for YES Network. DR activities for C-SPAN handled out of CDOC where content is acquired from archive location in Indiana and turned for uplink. Other transmission-only DR handled out of Titan directly. Stop #7: Training Room Note: Unless open, don’t take visitors into this environment. Just Photo Placeholder mention. Description: • Fully functionality environment for training new staff on existing systems, all staff on new systems, or testing new software releases or hardware technology Technical Features: • CMC thoroughly trains all operations personnel prior to a new channel launch or upon recent employment • CMC training programs are designed to bridge gaps in new or existing personnel knowledge and skills sets, ensuring confidence and clarity regarding specific roles and tasks required Customer Training Benefits: • CMC operators become well versed in all the phases